Put on your burger-eating britches, because Shake Shack is on the cusp of opening.
The popular burger chain, located at 220 E. Buffalo St. in the Historic Third Ward, has announced that it will open the doors to its first Wisconsin location on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 11 a.m. To make the deal even sweeter, the first 50 people in line at 11 a.m. on opening day will receive a free ShackBurger.
The restaurant, which was built with green architecture and eco-friendly construction in mind, will feature tabletops made by CounterEvolution using reclaimed bowling alley lanes, chairs designed by Uhuru using sustainable materials and and booths from Staach using lumber certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
Menu
In our recent feature on the popular burger restaurant, we gave a sneak peek into the locally-inspired offerings each Shake Shack features. At the time, not every purveyor had been finalized. However, we now know that numerous local businesses will have products featured on the menu.
In addition to Shack classics, The Third Ward Shack will offer a selection of menu items with ingredients from local purveyors, including a brat burger made with a flat-top griddled Usinger’s jalapeno cheddar brat topped with crispy Shackmeister Ale-marinated shallots and ShackSauce.
On the sweeter side, there will be the Buffalo St. Brownie with vanilla custard, salted caramel sauce, a Rocket Baby Bakery brownie and chocolate sprinkles, along with the Shack Attack, featuring chocolate custard, fudge sauce, chocolate truffle cookie dough, Mast Brothers Shake Shack dark chocolate chunks and chocolate sprinkles.
Meanwhile, the Pie Oh My concrete will feature a slice of seasonal pie from Bay View’s Honey Pie Cafe served up with a scoop of vanilla custard. In accordance with Shake Shack’s mission to "stand for something good," the restaurant will be donating 5 percent of sales from each Pie Oh My concrete to Groundwork Milwaukee, a nonprofit organization that works with community residents to help make their dreams for a healthier community become a reality.
Guests can wash their burgers down with local brews from Lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee Brewing Co., The Fermentorium, and Miller Brewing Company as well as crowd pleasers from Surly Brewing Company and Montucky Cold Snacks. Wine lovers can enjoy a glass of Shack Red and Shack White wine from Gothamist Project.
For those looking for an easy way to enjoy Shake Shack’s offerings, the restaurant will also launch their Milwaukee business with the Shack App, a mobile app through which guests can select their chosen menu items along with an available pick-up time. Food will be cooked to order and ready for pick-up at the selected time.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
